Free public transport pays for itself in productivity and public health cost-savings. It’s time to make it permanent. 

Even without a global fuel crisis, the numbers stack up on free public transport. That’s why Opportunity is calling for the immediate introduction of permanent, universal free-to-ride public transport across New Zealand. 

It’s about responding to today’s fuel crisis, while setting our cities up for tomorrow too. 

Free-to-ride public transport will:

• Provide immediate energy crisis relief and fuel savings. Enabling every Kiwi to save money by shifting to public transport is a win for people and our fuel stocks. Unlike the Government’s limited Working for Families relief package, free public transport helps most Kiwis immediately and reduces petrol and diesel demand. 

• Ease the cost-of-living crisis. For some New Zealanders, even a $3 fare is a barrier. Every Kiwi should be able to shop where food is freshest and cheapest, visit the doctor, get to class or attend a job interview.

• Reduce traffic and increase productivity. Fully free public transport would increase ridership between 10% and 50% - replacing thousands of car journeys and easing congestion on our roads. Removing fares also makes for faster bus and train boarding, which makes for faster journeys. 

• Remove the need for ticketing infrastructure. The national ticketing system is estimated to cost $92 million each year. Fully free public transport reduces this cost to zero. 

• Improve health. Travelling in a private car is more dangerous than using public transport (up to 9 times!) and everyone enjoys the cleaner air that comes with less traffic. 

OK fine. But can we afford to make public transport free?

Free public transport is a high‑return infrastructure investment, not a giveaway. At an estimated net cost of $150 million per year, the numbers stack up. 

For starters, moving to universal free fares is a 10% funding increase, not a 100% one. We already fund around 90% of the cost of public transport from taxes and rates; fares only cover about 10% of operating costs (or roughly $300 million a year on a $3–$4 billion system). Fully free public transport is about getting the most out of the money we’ve already invested into the network. 

Once savings from scrapping ticketing systems are included, free public transport has an  estimated net cost of about $150 million per year. 

That $150 million is an investment that buys New Zealand a wide range of savings over time - like productivity gains from less traffic, less road wear and tear and health savings (from both air pollution and road traffic accidents). In the long-term, that $150 million a year will likely pay for itself. 

Free Public Transport - FAQ

Wouldn’t the money be better targeted only to low‑income people? Targeted schemes sound efficient but in practice create complexity, stigma, and sharp cut‑offs that miss many people who need help. Universal free public transport is simple to administer, maximises behaviour change and puts busses and trains where they belong - as free public goods like roads, libraries and footpaths. 

Won’t free fares just create chaos and overcrowding? International experience from countries like Luxembourg, Malta, and Estonia, and many cities in Europe and North America, shows that fare‑free public transport increases ridership, reduces congestion, and enjoys strong public support, without systems collapsing. 

Won’t this mostly benefit tourists and people who already use buses and trains? Everyone gains from fewer cars on the road: motorists benefit from less congestion and easier parking, businesses from more reliable freight and commuting, and communities from cleaner air and safer streets. Tourists do benefit, but so do low‑income households, young people, disabled people, and older New Zealanders, for whom a $2–$5 fare can be a real barrier. 

Why not just make it cheaper instead of free? Discounted fares still require most of the same ticketing hardware, software, customer accounts, concessions management, and enforcement, which adds up to about $1.3 billion over 14 years. Only by completely eliminating fares do we unlock the full savings and behavioural shift.

How do you know free public transport will pay for itself in the long-term? Transport shapes access to jobs, education, healthcare and social life. Congestion in Auckland alone costs about $2.6 billion annually, and transport‑related air pollution costs about $1.2 billion a year in health impacts. Even modest improvements - for example, a 10% reduction in congestion and air pollution - generates hundreds of millions of dollars in productivity and health savings each year. 

What about rural Kiwis who don’t have access to public transport? Fair point. Free public transport won’t do much for rural Kiwis. But when 90% of New Zealanders live in a major or minor urban centre, it makes good economic sense to invest in productivity and health gains in these spaces. 

Is there actually public support for this?
Polling consistently shows strong support for free public transport. A 2023 Auckland survey found 73% support for making public transport permanently free. Internationally, fare‑free systems have proved durable: once introduced, they have not been reversed because people quickly experience the economic and social benefits. And that was before the cost of petrol sky-rocketed!